Xposure International Photography Festival, organised by Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), has launched a new award under the category titled, Independent Photojournalist, with the aim of recognising independent and freelance photojournalists who endeavour to create images for the purpose of supporting news stories and raising awareness about the vital issues facing our world. Online submissions for the Independent Photojournalist Award will be accepted from August 1 to November 30, 2021.
The award includes three categories: Spot News focusing on documenting events; Environmental Journalism capturing degradation of the environment and change that mankind has directly or indirectly caused to the environment; and Solutions Journalism that highlights the responsiveness of current circumstances and looks for action to deal with challenging contemporary issues. Participating photojournalists can take part in the contest with a minimum 5 and maximum 12 images.
The submissions for the Award will be evaluated in two phases. The first phase relies on news values, information, theme impact, consistency, visual storytelling and relevance of the participating images, while the second phase evaluates human interest, authenticity, emotion, photographic quality, essay description and captions.
The Independent Photojournalist of the Year will receive US $15,000, plus a gallery space to display his/her work at the next edition of the Xposure International Photography Festival, while the second winner will be awarded a specialised gallery space to display his/her work at the upcoming edition of the festival.
Participation in this award is free of charge and is open to all nationalities over the age of 18 who are currently holding a national or international press card issued by a federation or association that is internationally accredited and recognised.
For more details, please visit www.xposure.ae
